Mateen, 29, was born in New York to Afghan parents before they ended up in Fort Pierce, Florida, which is about two hours away from Orlando by car. He graduated with an associate’s degree in criminal justice in 2006. Since 2007, he worked as a private security guard.
His ex-wife, Sitora Yusufi, posted a message on her Facebook page. She wrote:
Great Spirit I offer my deepest prayer and condolences to the victims of the Orlando shooting... May they transition in peace may their souls be healed, may the wounded victims recover and heal in peace, may the families and loved ones heal and find their peace.... Archangel Michael Please protect us from suffering and the suffered.... Please protect us from hate, violence, anger and instability.... Amen.
In a separate interview with the Washington Post, Yusufi said she met Mateen online and moved to Florida in 2009 to be with him, but their relationship turned sour.
“He was not a stable person. He beat me. He would just come home and start beating me up because the laundry wasn’t finished or something like that…He seemed like a normal human being. He was a very private person,” she told the paper.
